Tuft frame for weaving tufted fabrics



Aug. 4, 1931 c. ALVORD TUFT FRAME FOR WEAVIlfG TUF'I'ED FA BRICS Filed Aug. 2, 1929 VI ENTORV' Patented Aug. 4, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLINTON ALVORD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,'ASSIGNOR' TO WORCESTER LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS Application filed August 2, 1929. Serial No. 382,854.

My invention relates to tuft frames for weavingtufted carpeting and more particularly to the suspension members of the frame which attach it to the conveyor chains.

My invention has for its principal object an improved tuft frame. A further object is an improved chain engaging ear and its accompanying latch for suspending the frame from the conveyor chain.

A third object is an improved end spool bearing; a further object consists in new and improved means for attaching the ear and spool bearing to the carrier bar, and further objects are embodied in the form, shape and constructionof these appurtenances of the frame as will be pointed out in the claim attached to this specification.

Heretofore it has been universal practice to have the suspension hook, or spring latch, of the tuft frame located mostly outside of the chain engaging ear which registers the frame in relation to its conveyor chain when inserted between two links 'ofthe chain.

Patent #1,469,180,- Sept. 25, 1923, and #1,662,212, March 13,1928 illustrate such practice which places the suspension hook in a position where it is exposed to frequent accidental contacts causing retraction of the hook and permitting the frame to become de- ,30 tached from the chain at one or both ends so that it is both out of. place for weaving and will almostsurely fall and cause much damage. p

'I have located these important members of the frame inside theblades of the ears where they are protected by the ears from accidental contacts causing retraction with consequent detachment from the chain, resulting in loss of time in re-installation as well as much damage;

Heretofore it has been the custom to attach a chain engaging ear to the carrier bar by three screws all of which were inserted perpendicularly to the faces of the carrier bars I have invented a new and valuable way of attaching theear by using only one screw, practically a joint screw, which is tightened in a direction substantially parallel with the length of the carrier bar, thus drawing the earup snugly against the end screws as in common practice.

thereof. I And it is done in the time required to tighten one screw instead of the several Thus I save valuable time in manufacture and in repairs.

,During the process of tuft forming the frames are registered from their ends and, by using the above mentioned joint screw, I make sure that the ears are, and will remain, against the ends of the bar, thus securing perfect registration for the frame during this important weaving function. i

The ear, being at the end of the tuft frame, is the receiver of accidental blows during its necessary transportation around the building, and hence can often become distorted and out of gauge and'my improvement allows the operator to remove it easily and quickly from the frame by taking out one screw only, then it can be straightened and re-shaped, or a new one substituted, in the shortest possible time. Also the ear can be removed from the bar without taking the spool gudgeon from its seat in the end spool bearing, which assuresthat the yarns are not disturbed in position in the frame, and this saves the valuable time that would be required to redraw the tuft'yarn into place in the frame.

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of one end of my new frame.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the frame. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my new chain engaging ear for the frame, while Fig.

.4 is a perspective view of my end spool bear- The carrier bar 1 is preferably a relatively rigid rectangular tube of suitable material to which are attached the various appurtenances of a tuft frame. At either end of the tube the top wall is cut away asat 2 forming a recess into which the end spool journal bearing 3, which is reduced in width at 4, may enter'when the foot portion 5 is inserted into the interior of the tube bringing the outer surface 6 of the spool bearing just within the plane forming the end of the tube as clearly shown in Fig. j

' An angle member 7 is attached firmly to the foot 5 by rivets or otherwise, the hole 8 being tapped in the downwardly extending leg. The angle member is of relatively thick material so that a screw 9 of generous proportions can be inserted and screwed up tight with no danger of stripping the threads. There is a clear hole 10 in the foot 5' through which the retaining screw 11 passes freely to enter and be screwed into the tapped hole 12 in the horizontal leg 13 of the angle member 7. Screw 11 is seated in a countersunk hole 14 located in the top face of the tube and when screw 11 is driven home into its countersunk seat the foot 5- of the spool is drawn up snugly against the inside of the tubing 1, and the bearing becoming, a portion of the body of the frame. Screw 11 is of substantial size and, as the material of the angle is relatively thick, the screw can be drawn up tight without danger of stripping the threads either of the screw or the tapped hole. The portion 4 of the spool bearing fits snugly into the recess 2 in the end of the tube and the shoulders formed by the front and back walls of the tube act as abutments which materially assist in retaining the end bearing in a firmly upright position. The upright member 15 of the spool bearing is pierced by two openings 16 which serve as pivot bearings, or an anchor, for the chain hook 17.

The chain engaging ear 18 is at its base of substantially the same dimension as the rectangular tube and has fastened to it, by rivets or otherwise, the winged member 19 designed to enter the end of the tube and fit so snugly therein that the ear is prevented from lateral movement. The countersunk hole 20, pierced through the base of the ear, forms the seat for the head of screw 9 which when tightened perpendicularly to the end of the tube 1, attaches the ear firmly to the end of the tube when screwed in angle 7. The relatively rigid ear 18 is bent outwardly at 21 and again at 22 and then upwardly at 18 where it is shaped to enter between the links of the conveyor chain as is common to such tuft frame carrier ears. The two bends or offsets 21 and 22' are designed to shape the blade of the ear so that it will miss the sprocket wheels, which mesh with and move the conveyor chain, while the tuft frame is going through the various positions it must occupy in performance of its cycle of motion on the 100111. The ear is imperforate outside the portion thereof designed for attachment to the carrier bar 1.

At the lower end of the hook 17 are the two pivot ears 23 which are inserted in the openings 16 in the spool bearings and then bent up to a shape that allows the lip 24, which hooks onto a link of the chain, to swing away from the position shown in Fig. 1 far enough to permit the hook to come well clear of the link as is customary with such tuft frame suspension hooks. One good way of urging the hook into engagement is by the use of compression spring 27 freely located by pins 25 and 26, fastened respectively in spool bearing 3 and hook 17. The spring is of sufiicient strength to retain the hook in contact with its link of chain during the various positions assumed by the tuft frame during the process of weaving. The ear 18,

when between the links of the chain, locates the tuft frame longitudinally with the chain, while it is suspended from the chain by the hook which is protected from accidental retractions on account of its being located between the ear and the spool bearing.

The ear 18 is cut away at 28 so as to allow access by the operator to the thumb tabs 29 of the hook when retracting the hook for re moving the tuft frame from the conveyor chains.

The end center bearing and the chain engaging ear are assembled on the carrier bar in the fol-lowing sequence: The bearing is inserted inside of the tube-like carrier bar and screw 11 driven home, the various parts having been machined so that the bearing is inside the plane of the end of the carrier bar. The wing-like member 19 of the ear is now inserted inside the carrier bar tube and screw 9 is screwed into the angle-like piece 7 and the screw is set up tight. The tightening action of the screw, as the ear becomes bedded down in the end of the carrier bar, tends tojam screw 11 against its cou-nter-sunk seat in the carrier bar tube and acts somewhat in the nature of a lockwa-sher. Leg 7 of the angle member naturally has a slight tendency to bend under strain of screw 9", so the tighter it is driven home the more it will bend toward the end of the carrier bar. The angle is so stiff that this bend of the leg is slight; however, any bend of the leg tends toact as a binder against any rotating movement of screw 9; therefore both these screws are bound in place and retained against the danger of rattling loose.

I prefer toequip tuft frames with locking means for the chain suspension hook when they are used in my type of tuft weaving loom patented Nov. 21, 1922, #1,436,619 in which the tuft frames remain attached to the carrier chains during the process of weaving; At the top of the spool bearing 3 I so attach the spring detent 30 that the outer end becomes a detent, or lock, for the hook against retraction. The end of the spring detent rests on post 31 fast in the hook. I prefer to provide the post with a recess 32, that comes under the spring detent, whereby the operative can insert a small lever underneath the detent and press it upward away from the post. An opening 33 is pierced through the hook above the normal position of the detent so that after its end 34 has been raised away from the post, and opposite the opening, the hook can be retracted because the end of the spring detent will be inoperative as a lock because its end will enter the hole, as the hook is retracted, and thus will not act as an abutment against which the hook will contact. As soon as the hook is forced again into normal operative position by spring 27 the detent snaps down on to the post and once more acts as a lock against the retraction of the hook.

Having thus clearly described my invention and illustrated it in the accompanying drawings I now annex the following claims:

1. As an article of manufacture a chain engaging ear for a tuft frame imperforate above the portion thereof designed for its attachment to the body of the tuft frame, said imperforate feature serving to prevent accidental dis-engagement of the tuft frame from its conveyor chain.

2. As an article of manufacture, an end spool bearing for a tuft frame being substantia'lly angular in shape and with the lower leg formed to enter the end of a tube-like carrier bar and be attached thereto by means of a single screw and with the upper leg provided with a journal bearing, while intermediate the lower leg and the journal bearing is a pivot seat for a chain engaging hook.

3. In a tuft frame the combination with a rigid tube-like carrier bar of an end spool bearing held to said bar by one screw, a rigid suspension hook pivoted on said bearing, a spring to urge said hook outwardly, a chain engaging ear attached to said carrier bar and imperforate above the portion thereof where it is attached to said bar, said hook being disposed entirely inside said ear and substantially outside of said bearing, a winglike member attached to said chain engaging ear and telescoping the end of saidv tube-like bar whereby said ear is held rigidly against torsion and means acting parallel with said carrier bar to hold said ear firmly against the end thereof.

4. In a tuft frame in combination, an end spool bearing attached to the frame, a chain engaging ear in spaced relation to said spool bearing, and a screw tapped into said bearing to draw said bearing and said ear toward each other whereby said ear is attached to the. tuft frame and can be removed therefrom without disturbing said spool bearing.

5. In a tuft frame in combination, a carrier bar, an end spool bearing attached to said bar, a chain engaging ear attached to the end of said bar, a suspension hook positioned between said bearing and said ear and anchored to said bearing and means forcing said hook outwardly toward said ear whereby the hook is brought into operative position where it is protected by said ear from accidental contacts tending to retract it from said position.

6. In a tuft yarn frame, the combination with the carrier bar of a chain engaging ear situated at the end thereof and formed and positioned to be outside of all appurtenances of the tuft frame, and operable hook-like means formed to act in cooperation with said ear in attaching the tuft frame to a carrier chain, said ear extending up above the hooklike means to prevent the accidental dis-engagement of the hook-like means from the conveyor chain.

7. In a tuft frame in combination, a chain suspension hook anchored to said frame, a lock for retaining said hook in its operative position throughout the weaving operations of the loom, means for securing said lock to said frame, said lock being formed to retain said hook against accidental release and releasable only at the will of the operative.

8. A tuft frame embodying the construction defined in claim 7 and in which the lock is a spring detent.

CLINTON ALVORD. 

